Post office box door fastener



Sept. 23, 1969 c, M. HARRIS, JR 3,468,578

POST OFFICE BOX noon FASTENER Filed July 21. 1967 f L] F: l/ 3 ,6 I /6 *i /4 24 2 o v o 20 Z6 r 22 /6 I 30 l Z2 so i 22: a H 2 H o o 24 25 25 HQ 5 04,421 55M HAZE/5J2 INVENT OR United States Patent 3,468,578 POST OFFICE BOX DOOR FASTENER Charles M. Harris, In, 1607 S. 26th St., Arlington, Va. 22206 Filed July 21, 1967, Ser. No. 655,209 Int. Cl. Ec 19/18, 17/02 US. Cl. 292-288 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Post oifices usually are provided with rental boxes provided with combination locks so that only a renter can gain access thereto. When a rental fee is not paid or the box is relinquished, the combination of the lock is changed which requires the expenditure of considerable time. Frequently, a renter will make a late payment of a rental fee rather than relinquish the box and in such instances, the present invention is advantageous in that access to the box can be temporarily prevented by installing the device in a simple and efiicient manner with the expenditure of very little time. Then, if delayed payment of the rental fee is made, it is only necessary to quickly and easily remove the retaining device and the post ofiice box is back in service with the same combination for the lock.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a retainer for temporarily preventing entry into a post office rental box which is simple in construction, easy to install and remove, effective for its purposes, dependable, long lasting and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a group of post oflice boxes as observed from the outside;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the boxes as observed from inside;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along section line 3-3 on FIG. 1 showing the relationship of the retainer and the box ofiice;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the retainer;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the retainer; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged plan view of the sliding friction catch.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the retainer comprising the present invention is designated by numeral 10 and is illustrated in combination with a conven- 3,468,578 Patented Sept. 23, 1969 "ice tional rental post ofiice box 12 normally provided in horizontal and vertical rows. Each box or compartment 12 is defined by a bottom Wall 14, side Walls 16, top wall 18, an open back end 20 and a pivotal closure door 22 defining the front wall.

The door 22 has a combination lock 24 thereon and a handle or knob 26 for retracting a lock bar or bolt 28 on the inner surface thereof. Also, a transparent window 30 is provided in the door 22 to enable observation of the interior of the post oflice box 12.

The retainer 10 includes an elongated resilient wire 32 having a central apex 34. One end of the wire 32 is laterally bent as at 36 to operativcly engage behind lock bolt 28. The other end of the wire 32 is bent into a semicircular handle 40 to enable manipulation of the wire 32 when being installed or removed. A sliding friction catch 38 is mounted on the wire 32 for limited movement between a struck-up tang 39 and the handle 40.

In operation, the laterally bent end 36 of the wire 32 is inserted behind lock bolt 28, the sliding catch 38 is slid back towards the handle 40 until it clears the rear inner edge of the side wall 16 of the box, then it is hooked over the inner edge of the side wall 16 and the handle 40 pulled away from the box to tension the wire 32. While the wire 32 is tensioned, the sliding catch 38 is slid tightly against the inner edge of the side wall and the handle released. This will positively prevent the opening of the box from the front by the delinquent box-holder, and but a matter of a few seconds for the postmaster to remove it and place the box back in operation.

The particular shape and configuration of the retainer 10 may vary with various means forming a tension device to retain the door closed. This enables the retainer to be used with various sizes of boxes by varying the dimensions. The handle provides for easy manipulation for closing the box from outside use from the inside without interfering with insertion of mail and adjacent boxes. When not in use, the retainer may be easily stored in a very small space.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination, a post ofiice rental box of the type having top, bottom and side walls forming an elongated housing having one open end and a closure door on its other end, and a retainer for temporarily preventing the closure door from being opened, said retainer comprising an elongated, resilient, rod-like member extending substantially throughout the length of the box, means on one end of the member operativcly engaged with the closure door, and means adjacent the other end of the member operativcly engaged with an end edge of the open end remote from the closure door for retaining the door in closed position under varying degrees of tension of said member.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said means engaged with the end edge of the box includes a 3 sliding catch, and a projecting handle on the member to facilitate release of said catch from the end edge of the box.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said resilient member obtains its resiliency from a specific formation of a portion of said member.

4. The structure as defined in claim 2 in which said sliding catch has a bore therethrough slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of the rod-like member upon which it is mounted, whereby when the catch is slid along the rod-like member and engaged over the edge of the open end of the box, slight pulling of the rod-like member through the catch under tension away from the closure door and then releasing it Will cant the catch on the rod-like member and lock the member and catch together under tension and hold the door closed.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 444,257 1/1891 Stonnard 232--23 452,953 5/1891 Bond 23223 1,603,404 10/1926 Proctor 29225 10 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner EDWARD J. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 232-233; 292306 

